1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a proxy server for downloading one or more data files from an external server.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a networked computing environment, a user may have a computer which connects via a local network (e.g. a LAN or WAN) and a local network server to the Internet. In some environments, the local network server may provide only a connection to the Internet without other services such as email or firewalls. For example, when a user first establishes a local network and wishes to connect to the Internet, only the most basic connection will be required. The user may then access an external server, via the Internet, and send and retrieve files, including email files (e.g. using the POP3 protocol), or Web documents (e.g. using RSS feeds). The user may also wish to access the external server via an alternate Internet connection; for example, the local network server may provide Internet access in the user's workplace, while an Internet Service Provider (ISP) may provide Internet access in the user's home.
One problem associated with the above-described situation is that, when the local server (e.g. in the workplace) has a slow Internet connection, it may take a long time for a user to access files on the external server. A second problem is that the local server (e.g. in the workplace) may cause further time delays when filtering incoming data for ‘malware’: e.g. SPAM, computer viruses, Trojan horses and worms.
The email protocol ‘POP3’ is an example of a protocol used by a client to access content data on the external server for instant or subsequent use by the user, when the content data has been delivered to the server asynchronously from the user's access to the server. This type of asynchronous content delivery is different from other transport protocols. POP3 is not used for email transport from server to server; POP3 is used after the mail transport system has delivered a message to a user's mailbox (on the external server), asynchronously from the client's access to the mailbox. POP3 is used by a user's mail client, or ‘Mail User Agent’ (MUA). Examples of such clients to retrieve email from a server-resident mailbox include Outlook by Microsoft Corporation and Mail by Apple Computer, Inc.
Although users may access their mailboxes using POP3 in a LAN at their workplace, they may also do so outside that environment. Users who use POP3 both via a local network and via an alternate Internet provider may include sales staff on the road, executives accessing corporate mailboxes from home, and staff in a small company using email mailboxes on an external server. The access delay problems apply to both situations.
It is desired to address the above, or at least provide a useful alternative.